India’s Tejas vs Pakistan’s JF-17 aircraft: In the recent turn of developments, the two Asian neighbours are competing against each other as they offer Brazil their self-made aircrafts. India has offered to sell its Tejas Mk1A aircraft to Brazil and Pakistan has offered its JF-17 Block-III, a jointly developed by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China.
As per a report carried by the IDRW, Brazil is planning to replace its old F-5FM Tiger II aircraft as these aircraft have been in service with the Brazilian Air Force since the 1970s and therefore India and Pakistan are competition to get the deal.
The JF-17 Block-III aircraft of Pakistan is a 4+ generation fighter aircraft, which has been the backbone of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) since 2007. On the other hand, India’s Tejas Mk1A, it has a General Electric F404-IN20 engine and it can speed of this aircraft is 1.8 Mach.
If we compare both the aircrafts, it can be found that Tejas can fly farther and carry more weapons than the Pakistani JF-17. Tejas uses composite materials, making it less visible to radar, with a radar cross-section of 0.5 m² compared to 1.5 m² for the Pakistan’s JF-17. Overall, the Tejas airccraft of India is more capable, but it is also slightly more expensive, with the Mk1A version costing $37.8 million.
In an update from last month, GE Aerospace delivered the first of 99 F404-IN20 engines to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft Mk 1A fight jet, as per a report by news agency ANI.
“On Tuesday (March 25), we were excited to deliver the first of 99 F404-IN20 engines to our valued customer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft Mk 1A fight jet,” the company added.
The F404-IN20 engine is a tailored design for India’s single-engine fighter with the highest thrust within the F404 family and a higher-flow fan, unique single-crystal turbine blades, and numerous special components, a blog on the company’s website said about the aircraft.
The F404 engine is one of the most successful in military aviation history, powers thousands of combat aircraft worldwide, as per GE Aerospace. The American aircraft engine supplier further added that GE Aerospace, by 2016, had fulfilled its commitment to HAL and delivered 65 F404-IN20 engines for the Tejas LCA.
(With inputs from agencies)